


early morning rain

by when_the_planets_align



Category: RWBY
Genre: Chronic Pain, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, M/M, Multi, also i have no clue wtf to tag this as, and for that i apologize, and i only realized until after i wrote this fic, except i don’t have chronic pains, just know nora hurts and ren and jaune use bf powers to help, nora has chronic pains due to whole atlas fiasco, that this wasn’t an /entirely/ accurate depiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 07:20:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29346516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/when_the_planets_align/pseuds/when_the_planets_align
Summary: Nora wakes up to the sound of rain beating against the house and wishes she hadn’t. Jaune is a miracle worker though, and Ren offers his support in the same way he always has.
Relationships: Jaune Arc/Lie Ren, Jaune Arc/Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie, Jaune Arc/Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie
Comments: 6
Kudos: 32





	early morning rain

**Author's Note:**

> eeeeeeee hello !!! okay a few things before we begin:  
> -as stated in the tags, i realize that this work is not an entirely accurate depiction of what living with chronic pains is like. i know better now and i apologize to anyone who was looking for something spot on. if i do ever explore this topic again in the future, i promise to do better.  
> -there may be typos and! i’m! sorry! i proofread it but that doesn’t mean i caught everything.
> 
> please enjoy! i’m actually really proud of this despite its flaws 🤸♀️

Nora woke up and immediately wished she hadn’t. The numbing pain that coursed through her body with every heartbeat was in a realm between small enough to ignore and too big to move. She heard the rain beating softly against the window before she could ask herself why her body had decided to betray her and act up today. 

She managed to sneak a glance at the clock, which revealed that it was only 5:16 in the morning. A little early for her, but not by too much. Way too early for both Jaune and Ren, though. Or anyone in the house, really, except maybe Blake and Oscar, but Blake had returned from a mission earlier in the morning, and Oscar was currently at his aunt’s house. So no one was waking up for at least another two hours. And Nora wasn’t falling asleep anytime soon. 

She quietly groaned, not moving from her spot. She decided to just wait until either one of the boys got up, or one of the girls from team RWBY walked past the hall and she could softly shout for their help. In the meantime, she prepared herself to find distractions from the insistent pain that flared most notably in her arms and legs. 

She managed to zero in on Jaune and Ren’s snores, Jaune’s being far louder than Ren’s, but were still quiet. Ren was lying next to her, facing away from her with his back against her arm, and she zeroed in on that, too, when their snoring wasn’t enough. Jaune lay on his back, next to Ren, and if she was willing to prop herself up and observe the two boys, she knew they would be holding hands. Again, Nora zeroed in on that, using her imagination this time to picture Ren’s hand lazily gripping Jaune’s on the bed in between them. 

It was a long, painful process, and Nora almost thought she was going to make it, until a sudden flare of searing pain struck up from the bottom of her back, making its way to the back of her head. She gasped, tears stinging her eyes, and she bit her lip, not wanting to wake the two peaceful sleepers beside her. She managed to relax herself just a bit, but not by much. This pain was different in just the right way, with just a bit more bite to it. She struck a glance at the clock again. 5:36. 

It’s only been twenty minutes? That felt like a slap in the face. She really thought more time had passed. The pain in her back wasn’t letting up, and she was sure if she didn’t do something soon she’d have a headache that would last all day. But she didn’t have it in her to wake her boys up. It was a little rough last night. Ren’s mood had progressively gone down and down throughout the day, until the three of them were bundled up in the bed together at night, holding him. He hadn’t spoken about why, he hadn’t needed to, it was just one of those days. It didn’t sit right with Nora to wake them both up after all that. 

So she stayed lying there, staring at the ceiling. She could handle this. It really was no big deal, just a little pain in her limbs and back. It wasn’t like the pain she had while she was laying in Weiss’s bed in Schnee Manor, alone and injuries fresh. That pain had surpassed any pain she’d ever felt in her entire life of living in a world that had constantly beaten her down, and she doubted anything else could hurt more. 

Yet the pain was insistent. A consistent thrum of hurt rang through her, and she couldn’t stop her hands from balling into fists, her fingernails digging into her skin hard enough to draw blood. She did her best to count each breath, and after a while was able to close her eyes again. There was a moment of peace, just a moment, where the pain felt like hot water sliding through her body, like a nice warm shower, but inside instead of outside. Just as quickly as the moment came, though, it left, and the water was no longer pleasant, rather too hot and Nora had no way of shutting it off. 

Sooner or later, her senses had tuned out and all there was was her pain and her shallow breaths, which she was diligently counting. It wouldn’t be too long, now. There was no way for her to tell if one of the girls were to walk by the door, and at this point Nora didn’t care. Jaune would wake up before Ren, and she could ask him to use his semblance for temporary relief until she could obtain the pain medication in the kitchen cabinet. Jaune’s semblance really was a wonder, and ever since they found out it could lessen pretty much any pain, even if just by a tiny bit, so long as Jaune didn’t stop, it made days like these significantly easier. 

She tried not to focus on when that would happen, as to not prolong her current misery. In doing this, she was able to obtain something close to sleep, and for that she was grateful. 

She didn’t know how much time had passed before she heard shuffling to the right of her, and felt the bed move as Jaune stretched. She opened her eyes and stayed looking at the ceiling, just in case he was moving in his sleep. Awake already? She didn’t move to check the time, not wanting to agitate herself any further, but the room didn’t look too much brighter than it was before. In fact, it was still pretty dark in the room, what with it raining. She predicted that maybe another 20 minutes had passed, which was still far too early for Jaune or really anyone else to be getting up. 

The shifting settled down, and so did her hopes. Just moving in his sleep. She willed her eyes to close again, but found that she wasn’t able to keep them closed for long. She gave a quiet, annoyed sigh, choosing to watch as the room was filled with grey light ever so slowly as the sun rose up and up. 

“Nora?” She almost jumped six feet out of her skin upon hearing Jaune’s groggy voice. She managed to turn her head, eyes wide, and sure enough, there was Jaune, propped up on an elbow and staring through half-opened eyes over Ren at her. Okay, so maybe he was up. She was about to smile and say her good mornings before the consequences of suddenly turning her head after finally getting comfortable in her position caught up to her (or, as comfortable as she could be in that moment). 

She grimaced, inhaling a sharp breath. A flare of pain had been sent up her back, and it pounded in the back of her head. She shifted her head back to where it was before, but it didn’t help. 

“Whoa, whoa, take it easy, Nor,” A hand was on her shoulder, and Nora’s tense body instantly relaxed as Jaune’s aura intertwined with her own. She let go of a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding, and uttered a thank you under her breath. She opened her eyes once again, and this time was able to smile at Jaune. He smiled back, more alert this time. She felt a little bad startling him awake like this, but she was grateful to have the help nonetheless. 

Speaking of being awake, what time was it? Nora, who was able to move a lot easier now, her pain a mere dull roar, located the clock again and saw that it was only 6:03 in the morning. 

“Jaune! What are you doing up so early?” She propped herself up on her elbows, and Jaune took his hand away from her shoulder, his semblance still active. 

“I think your breathing may have woken me up. My body was already preparing to wake me up soon anyways, so it’s no big deal. Don’t worry about it. It looks like you needed me, anyways,” he said, stretching his back and neck. “How long have you been up?”

She wanted to argue that it was a big deal that her breathing was what woke him up. Had she really been that loud? She felt awful. If she had just been a little quieter, had taken into consideration her loud, shallow breaths and the fact that Jaune tended to be a light sleeper in the mornings, he would’ve still been asleep. But she knew it was useless. She sat up fully and sighed to herself. When Jaune had his mind set to something he believed to be correct, there was no swaying him. And he was right, about her needing him. She didn’t like to be dependent on his semblance for her ability to function, and she tried her best to find other methods before going to him, but right now she did need his help. 

“I’ve been up since around 5:15, so a little less than an hour. Why?” Jaune and Ren both knew the rain affected Nora, everyone in the house did. Hell, the rain even affected some of the others, what with injuries they’ve all obtained in fights long since passed. She suspected Jaune had connected the dots already, as Nora was known to wake up early on rainy days. 

Jaune’s face fell into a mix of shock, concern, and if she was reading him right, hurt. “Nora! We talked about this! If you ever wake up early due to your pain, wake us up! We will help you! We don’t mind at all!” His voice was desperate, a tiny bit hurt, and was getting just a bit loud. Nora panicked when she saw Ren shift in his spot beside her. The last thing she wanted was for both of them to be awake due to her incapability to easily allow others to help her when she needed it. 

She bit her lip wearily, responding to Jaune in a quiet hush, “I’m sorry, I just… it was so early and I wanted to let you two sleep a little longer, especially after last night…” her gaze fell onto Ren between them, still sleeping, but from the looks of it, not soundly. He was bound to wake up soon, if the two of them were going to continue to have a conversation, no matter how quiet. Jaune softened, letting a breath escape his lips, and he took her hands in his own. 

“I know you feel guilty about asking for things, I get it. But I’d much rather be woken up far before my usual time and be groggy all day because you needed assistance than wake up later and have to go the entire day knowing you were suffering while I was content in bed. It’s okay to ask for help, Nora,” he squeezed her hands tight, and Nora’s eyes began to sting with tears as she smiled at him, unable to speak. Their auras were still intermingling, the bright white fading into a hot pink. It was at this moment that Ren began to stir beneath them, and Nora let go of Jaune’s hands at this, not wanting their arms to be in the way of Ren waking up. 

It wasn’t long before he propped himself up on his elbows and with a look of confusion observed the two. The confusion quickly lifted from his face as he saw the evident use of Jaune’s semblance and no doubt heard the battering rain, which had slowly but surely risen in intensity throughout the morning. He hummed, and sat up against the head of the bed, taking one of Nora’s hands in his own. 

“Is there anything you need me to do?” He asked through half-lidded eyes, voice rough from sleep. Nora thought he looked cute. Her small moment was ruined as flare of pain stabbed her legs, causing her to wince. It appeared her pain was fighting Jaune’s semblance, or so she liked to think. She really didn’t want to imagine what it would’ve felt like if she didn’t have the assistance of Jaune’s semblance with her at that moment. 

“Yeah, actually. If you don’t mind getting the pain medicication from the cabinet, that’d be great,” Jaune spoke for her, and Nora was grateful for that yet again. Ren, more alert now, nodded his head and headed for the kitchen, but not before giving Nora a peck on the cheek. She giggled, and as she waited for him to return, decided to prop the pillows up against the head of the bed and sit up against them. Jaune moved next to her, scooping her up and placing her more in the center of the bed, much to Nora’s surprise. She giggled at that, too. 

“How about an early morning round of cuddles while we wait for the pain medication to kick in?” He said, kissing her temple. Nora hummed at that thought, knowing Jaune would have to take periodic breaks as to not overwhelm his semblance. On days like this, the boys usually did the best they could to help her cope with those breaks by pampering her with blankets and lots and lots of affection. It would’ve been the best thing in the world for Nora, if not for the sudden shock of pain that wracked her body each time. The breaks were almost necessary, though, as it also helped indicate whether or not Jaune’s semblance was needed anymore or not. 

Coming back from the kitchen, Ren closed the door to their room with his foot as his hands were full holding a glass of water in one and two pills in the other. He handed the pills to Nora and held the glass of water in his hands, ready to give it to her when she needed it. 

“I think it’d be best if we have breakfast after the pain medication kicks in, that way we can all head to the kitchen and eat together there,” he said as he handed the glass of water to Nora at her command. She swallowed the pills in two gulps, handing the glass back to Ren for him to put on the nightstand. As he turned around from placing the glass down, she leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, surprising him in the process. 

“I think that sounds lovely,” she giggled, returning to her spot on the bed. Upon doing this, Jaune’s arms wrapped around her torso as he buried his face into the crook of her neck. Ren temporally left the bed to fetch the blankets on the ground and retrieve Nora’s favorite stuffed animal, a pastel pink fox with a flower on the side of its head. It was the perfect size for holding, and just the right amount of fluffy and soft, and gods it was so cute. It was a little worn down from years of use, Nora having first obtained it at the age of 15. It had been sown back together in many places, and there was a yellow and purple flannel-patterned patch sown onto its back from a costly hole that tore through it one time. It represented comfort and unconditional love for her, and was a necessity in times like this. She eagerly took it from Ren as he made his way back to the bed, blankets in hand. 

Once the blankets had been thrown down and comfortably placed overtop the three of them, Ren now holding Nora’s left hand, keeping just the tiniest bit of distance between them, having used his “people battery” quite a bit last night (which didn’t bother Nora at all. She had Jaune and her stuffed animal, which was tucked under her left arm, after all, and it wasn’t like he wasn’t holding onto her), the three settled into a comfortable silence. 

“How are you holding up?” Jaune mumbled against her skin, his fingers fiddling with her shirt. Nora knew what was to come. She evaluated the pain she was feeling - her legs still ached with a throbbing, firey pain, that was only going to be multiplied once Jaune lifted his aura from hers. The rest of her was merely a dull ache, and she prepared herself for it to come biting back at her. Right now, it felt like the pain was blurred, muddled, as if some fog had been thrown over it. Her legs had no such feeling. 

“Pretty good. I think I’ll survive a little ten minute break,” she smiled, and with those words, Jaune pulled back his semblance. Nora tried her best not to wince as the pain jutted sharply back into her muscles, but with the way her legs felt like a hot iron was being stabbed into them repeatedly, and her arms and back flared with a familiar sore ache, it was hard. Jaune loosened his grip around Nora’s torso, trying to read if he should let go or hold on tighter. Nora gently took her hand under Jaune’s arm and lifted, signaling for Jaune to let go, and he did. He moved to sit beside her, offering a hand to which she took, and promptly tried not to crush with her grip. She already felt bad about Ren’s poor hand. 

Turns out Nora Valkyrie could not survive ten minutes, or at least not in the way she had wanted to. She certainly didn’t want anyone touching her skin, which is why she had removed Jaune from where he was previously situated. Her hands were fine, obviously, and were really one of the only places she allowed people to hold her in situations like this. 

The pain in her legs was almost numbing, but she was able to smile a bit as Ren kissed Nora’s knuckles gingerly. It didn’t last long, as her eyes began to sting with stale tears she couldn't control. It wasn’t like she was actively crying against her pain, it was more or less an involuntary response her body had against it. Jaune turned on the tv, and Nora did her best to focus on whatever sitcom had been thrown on. Only ten minutes. Don’t make a big deal out of this, Valkyrie. 

After what felt like hours, she felt the gentle trickle of Jaune’s aura intertwine with her own once again, and nearly all the tension lifted from Nora’s body. The pain in her back and arms returned to a dull ache, clouded by a metaphorical fog, and her legs just throbbed. She let out a contented sigh, and invited Jaune to return to his previous cuddle arrangement. He did, and once he was he gave Nora a kiss to her neck. She giggled, and let go of Ren’s hand. The poor guy definitely needed a break from her bone-crushing hold, and with the look he gave her, she could tell he was grateful. 

Finally able to see again without a wall of pain clouding her vision, she snorted at what Jaune had turned on. A rerun of some old Valean romcom, with bad acting and silly graphics and an even sillier plot. 

“This show? Really?” She snorted, letting the light sensation float easily through her body. It felt good to be able to laugh, even if it was a short snort. 

Jaune gave her a look and Ren chuckled with her, taking the remote and flipping through the channels until he landed on some movie. Some action movie Nora was quickly enamoured with. It was easy to forget about the next time Jaune would need an aura break. That was the whole purpose of the television right now, anyways. And Nora wouldn’t need to be dependent on Jaune’s semblance for much longer, anyways; her own aura and the pain medicine would fill in any gaps very soon. 

But, for now, she just enjoyed the time she was spending with the two people she loved most. Soon enough, the three of them would be heading to the kitchen for Ren to make them breakfast. Definitely pancakes, there was no arguing about that. 

Nora sighed contentedly to herself. She really didn’t know what she’d do without them, her two boys, her lovers, her team, family. They meant everything to her and it took her a while, but she knew now she meant everything to them, too. And that was reason enough for Nora to fight. To fight the pain, both physical and mental. Because she knew she’d always have Jaune and Ren by her side, no matter what.

**Author's Note:**

> woooooo !!! i hope you enjoyed this silly lil story that is the longest one shot i’ve ever written 🤸♀️ ik it’s not that long but i usually don’t write this much for one idea, i feel like this has been a gateway into hell lmfao.
> 
> i wanted to capture with this fic not just the pain nora may go through, but like, how she handles it mentally. nora is def the type to downplay literally anything bad that happens to her, and even though she has reassurance, she’s still hesitant to ask for things and she feels bad about it, choosing to just. let the things happen to her bc she doesn’t want to be a burden to others. i hope i captured that in a way that made sense, and didn’t offend anyone!
> 
> also what do y’all think abt the whole jaune’s semblance thing? i’ve always had this thought, and i decided to put it at play in this fic. i think it makes sense but my thinking may be flawed 🤸♀️


End file.
